Roku's new streaming stick is smaller, faster, and costs only $50

Roku’s last streaming stick was convenient and cheap, but it wasn’t all that powerful. If you’ve been waiting for the company to launch a successor that fixes that problem, you’re in luck. Today Roku has announced a new streaming stick with a focus on performance.

What’s so special about the new streaming stick? Roku says it has 8x more processing power than its predecessor, thanks to its new quad-core CPU. There are no specifics how much RAM or what kind of processor is used in the new device. It’s also much smaller than the 2014 model, and sports dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi for connecting to wireless networks more quickly.

It runs Roku OS 7.1, which brings better search and discovery functionality to the device by adding new categories to the Roku Feed. Perhaps the coolest part of this updated streaming stick is that it allows users to stream audio directly to their mobile devices via the Roku mobile application on Android or iOS. A redesigned remote is also included with the streaming stick, though it unfortunately doesn’t have a headphone jack or voice control support.

The new Roku streaming stick is available for pre-order from Roku’s website for $49.99, and will start shipping out to early adopters on April 20th.